Luis de Santangel

Luis de Santangel (died 1498) was the Finance Minister of Spain under Queen Isabella I of Spain and Fernando I.

Biography
Luis de Santangel was born in Valencia, Spain, to a Sephardic Jewish family that converted to Roman Catholicism during the Spanish Inquisition. He was made the financial advisor to Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Fernando II of Aragon, and in 1486 he advised them to allow Christopher Columbus to launch his expedition to the New World to explore new lands for the Spanish Empire. Santangel's efforts succeeded, and Columbus explored the Caribbean.

In 1491 he joined the Assassin Order and assisted in their plans to find out about the Templar Order's involvement in the Spanish monarchy. He made contact with Venetian Thieves' Guild leader Antonio de Magianis and Italian Brotherhood mentor Ezio Auditore da Firenze, and Auditore stopped Inquisitor-General Tomas de Torquemada from persecuting him. Santangel later began to poison Queen Isabella due to her involvement with the Templars in addition to her responsibility for the beheading of his cousins during the Inquisition. However, he died in 1498 of natural causes before he could complete the job.